1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to surgical devices and methods, methods for harvesting specimens and accessing remote anatomical sites, more specifically to biopsy devices integrated with access cannulae and methods of use thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various biopsy devices and access cannulae are known in the art. Typically, these devices are configured to work independently of one another, and are not designed to work in concert so as to allow the precise retrieval of a biopsy specimen relative to placement of an access cannula.
In certain surgical procedures such as vertebroplasty, endoscopy, laparoscopy, and arthroscopy, an access cannula is used to establish a pathway to a remote operative site in the body. Often the operative site is surrounded by critical neurovascular structures that must be protected from iatragenic compromise. It would therefore be an advantage over the prior art to have an integrated access tool and biopsy device that function in concert with one another to minimize tissue trauma, and more importantly, maintain a tract to the remote operative site. It would be a further advantage over the prior art to have a guided biopsy device for harvesting tissue from a remote internal body site.
For example, the state of the art provides biopsy tools that work independently of access cannulas. An example of known biopsy tools is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,186, issued Jan. 21, 1997, to Rubinstein, et al. or U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,209, issued Dec. 11, 1984, to Mehl. In addition, European Patent No. 1074231, granted Feb. 7, 2001, to Al-Assir represents a surgical technique using an access cannula.
Unfortunately, conventional practices require first establishing a tract to the remote operative site with a biopsy tool. After harvesting a specimen and removing the biopsy tool, the tract to the remote operative site must then be re-established when positioning a cannula, causing additional trauma to intervening tissue (particularly if positioning the cannula creates a different access tract) and risking injury to vital anatomical structures adjacent to or in the cannula access path.
Additionally, it is often desirable to locate the tract to a remote operative site with a small guide wire under fluoroscopic visualization. After the guide wire tract is established, larger tools can be placed over the guide wire and advanced along the “guided” path to the operative site. It would be an improvement over the prior art to provide a biopsy device that is guided over a wire or rod to reach a remote operative site with minimal disruption or trauma to the adjacent tissue. It would be a further improvement to provide a cannula that is guided into position by a biopsy device to maintain the tract previously established to the remote operative site by the biopsy device and minimize the number of steps required to carry out the surgical procedure.